THE EVALUATION OF SOME CLAIMS OF WESTERN TRAVELERS AND RESEARCHERS ABOUT THE CRYPTO-CHRISTIONS IN TRABZON (TREBIZOND) AND ITS VICINITY IN THE XIX. CENTURY AYŞEGÜL KUŞ* Introduction The Black Sea region has been an important place for many nations to establish domination throughout the history due to its geo-strategic location. It is kown that the Black Sea region was inhabited by several tribes even before the historic periods.1 The oldest tribe known to have settled in the region in the mid of the XVI. century is Gashkas.2 The following tribe Cimmerians around 695 B.C captured the arae between Black Sea Ereğli (Pontos Heraclia) and Trabzon (Trebizond). However, they could not resist agains the İskit pressure and had to move to Crimea and its neighbourhood.34 In addition, according to the Georgion sources recorded in IV. B.C. the Kipchaks on the banks of Çoruh (Hapsoros) are claimed to have emigrated to the region along with the Scythians It is claimed that the tribes who had settled in the eastern Black Sea and had a kinship with the Turks are Cimmerians and Scythians. Furthermore, it is stressed that although there have been diff erent opinions regarding the origins of these tribes, there is strong evidence that they are included in the Turkish cultural circle.5 * Dr., Ondokuz Mayıs University, Faculty of Education, Samsun/TURKEY,
[email protected] 1 İ. Kılıç Kökten, “Anadolu’da Prehistorik Yerleşme Yerlerinin Dağılışı Üzerine Bir Araştırma”, AÜDTCF, X/3-4, 1952 , pp. 189- 203. 2 Ekrem Akurgal, Anadolu Kültür Tarihi, Tübitak Yayınları, Ankara 1998, pp.